


(when a human strokes your skin) that is when you let them in

by evocativecomma



Series: Rooting For You [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Hair Braiding, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Injury, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2017-10-26
Packaged: 2019-01-23 07:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12502292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evocativecomma/pseuds/evocativecomma
Summary: Magnus' hands are slow and gentle, and every few strokes he sets the brush aside to massage the tips of his fingers across Taako's scalp. His touch drifts sometimes to Taako's ears, or his neck, and after a few minutes, Taako is almost completely limp where he leans against Magnus' legs.





	(when a human strokes your skin) that is when you let them in

"Hey," Magnus says, and his voice like this, quiet and close, is something altogether overwhelming; Taako shuts his eyes against it. "Hey," he says again.

Taako doesn't move, and Magnus comes slowly to sit on the edge of his bed, trying to make his movements as obvious as possible even though Taako is facing the wall. He smooths out the blanket near what he's pretty sure are Taako's feet and tries to orient himself in the oppressive miasma of the room, bundle of blankets and unmoving elf and all.

It's been two weeks since they lost Lup and Barry in the race to evacuate ahead of The Hunger, and Davenport, who stayed aboard the Starblaster this cycle, is the only one who escaped unscathed. The elf-like inhabitants of the last world had decided that a fighting chance meant, well, fighting, and so the crew had run back to the ship through the chaos of fire and screams and shrapnel.

They all knew—as they collapsed on the bridge, as they registered the absence of Barry and Lup, as Merle and Lucretia tended to their wounds in silence, as Taako realized that he couldn't feel or move his left arm even after the radiance of Merle's healing magic faded—that in a little over three months, it would all reset. Everything would be new again, even them. Almost. But they'd been a little reckless, riding high on an early success last cycle, and they hadn't been prepared when The Hunger arrived.

"Taako?" Magnus brushes his hand over Taako's shoulder, and the elf buries his face even deeper into the blankets. "We miss you, you know. We— I miss you. I've been worried."

Taako sighs and stretches, sitting up slowly and rubbing his eyes, kicking at the blankets until Magnus helps pull them off. "What," he says with a lazy shrug, "you guys couldn't go a few days without me?" He smiles, batting his lashes at Magnus, but it's the wrong kind of flippant, and it makes Magnus' heart ache.

"I mean, we _can_ , but that doesn't mean we _want to_. And besides, I think Davenport's about to start breaking out the MREs without you and Lu—" He stops himself, glancing away until Taako puts a hand—his right hand, his good hand, his _only_ hand for the rest of this cycle—on his cheek and brings his gaze back.

"It's okay," he says. "I know she'll be back. It just takes me a while to get used to being lonely, sometimes."

Magnus nods. "We're all here for you. I know it's different, but it's— I'm here for you."

Moving closer, Taako leans his head on Magnus' shoulder. "I'd be kind of concerned if you weren't, my dude, because we're all pretty much stuck together." He shifts, brushing imaginary dust off of the wide-necked shirt he's wearing, the sharp wing of his collarbone and his right shoulder bared. "Now, what were you saying about fucking MRE's? Because there's no way I'm letting y'all eat that shit."

Magnus thinks about the time he stood in the kitchen doorway and watched Taako eat several handfuls of raw pasta and cheese and follow them up with hot water, but decides not to mention it. "It was Davenport's idea, after about six days of Lucretia just feeding everybody toast."

"God, you fuckers are useless," Taako says, but he's smiling again, and it reaches his eyes this time. He shakes his head, and something sparks in Magnus' head.

"Wait! Before we go, come here." Taako cocks his head, but he goes easily when Magnus guides him to sit on the floor; his warm, square hands linger on Taako's shoulders for a moment before he leans away to grab something out of the bedside drawer.

The first stroke of the brush through his hair has Taako _moaning_ , and it might be embarrassing if he hadn't abandoned the concept of shame long before he'd ever joined the IPRE—or if it just didn't feel so fucking _good_. Magnus' hands are slow and gentle, and every few strokes he sets the brush aside to massage the tips of his fingers across Taako's scalp. His touch drifts sometimes to Taako's ears, or his neck, and after a few minutes, Taako is almost completely limp where he leans against Magnus' legs.

He must have been using magic or something, Magnus thinks, because even though he's barely left this room for two weeks, his hair is still soft and shiny; it smells like the small pink flowers all around the IPRE headquarters on their homeworld, and Magnus has to take several long, shaky breaths before the lump in his throat eases.

Once all of the knots and tangles are gone, Magnus runs his hands through the thick mass of Taako's hair, separating it into sections; it's honey-gold today, with threads of red and bronze and white-blonde catching the light as it moves. Absently, Magnus wonders if Taako's hair will silver as he ages—how long it will take, and if Taako's vanity will deem it embarrassing or fashionable. He likes the picture of Taako somewhere, safe in his old age, with impractically long starlight-colored hair and crow's feet around his mischievous eyes.

The silence around them is warm, soft somehow, and Taako swears he can hear Magnus concentrating as he pulls and weaves fine sections of Taako's hair together.

"Do you have a ribbon? Or a tie or something?" It's the first either has spoken in nearly half an hour, but it isn't startling. It's only Magnus' voice in the quiet, and it settles in Taako's chest with an ease he prefers not to think about.

"Stupid question." Taako snaps his fingers and a red ribbon appears in his right hand; when he passes it up to Magnus, their fingers brush, and there's a thrill of electricity between them at the contact.

"There," Magnus says quietly, deftly tying the ribbon into a bow that trails along Taako's back. "Now you're perfect." Without allowing himself to think, he leans down and brushes a barely-there kiss against Taako's shoulder, right where it meets his neck.

"Well, _duh_ ," Taako says, but his chest rises steeply and the words come out a little thin. His fingers shakes ever-so-slightly as he brings them up to feel the neat fishtail braid Magnus has woven; Magnus catches his hand before he can put it back down, and presses another kiss to his palm. Taako leans back, resting his head against Magnus' knees and looking up into his eyes. "Thank you," he says, and even though the words are small, he can't bear the naked emotion in them; he tries to swallow it, tries to force it into superscript, but he knows Magnus can see everything in his eyes.

Finally, he looks away, stands up and shakes his head, and when he turns with a flourish to face Magnus again he's himself again, all his thoughts and feelings back where they should be—and if his heart is still beating faster than he'd prefer? No one else can see it.

He holds his hand out to Magnus, pulls him to his feet, for the first time able to look past the limp weight of his left arm against his side. "Let's go see if we can rustle up something edible, shall we? I may need a _hand_ ," he says with a snort, "but I guarantee it'll be better than reconstituted gravy."

Magnus holds the door for him on the way out and follows him through the ship's corridors, watching the tails of the ribbon play against his back the whole way.

**Author's Note:**

> Last night somebody in the Fuck Dome chat mentioned Magnus braiding Taako's hair and y'all got me on board the Taagnus train, so now you get to reap the rewards. This was supposed to be straight fluff, but the little bit of angst worked its way in before I could stop it because I'm a slut for hurt/comfort.
> 
> As always, come talk to me on [tumblr](http://shootthewendybird.tumblr.com)! I like to yell about things. All the things. All the time. So much yelling.
> 
> Title from _Through the Eyes of a Child_ by AURORA.


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